


Graves' Secrets

by doodlerTM



Category: Hustle Cat (Visual Novel)
Genre: AU, Angst with a Happy Ending, Gen, Graves Ending except Graves & Avery don't end up dating, Non-binary Avery, Post-Canon, Sort Of
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-05
Updated: 2020-09-05
Packaged: 2021-03-06 21:33:46
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,115
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26295709
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/doodlerTM/pseuds/doodlerTM
Summary: Graves shows Avery & Reese his metal knack after his curse is undone, and he tells them more about his relationship with Nacht.
Comments: 1
Kudos: 7





	Graves' Secrets

Reese and Avery sat on a couple stumps in the clearing as Graves put wards on the trees around them. 

“So how do the wards work, exactly?” Avery asked.

Reese pulled a lollipop out of his jacket pocket and started sucking on it. “Magically, no one can cast spells through the area. Physically... well, an intuition kicks in to anyone who approaches the barrier. Non-witches, of course.”

“To go away?” 

Reese nodded. “Something like that. But it's really tricky to find the right balance. Too weak and obviously it's not gonna work. Too strong and you could cause some major psychic damage.”

“That makes sense,” Avery said. They glanced at the metal sheets lying against one of the trees. Reese and Avery had come out here so that Graves could demonstrate his metal knack for the first time since his curse had been lifted. 

“Have you seen him work his knack before?” they asked Reese.

“Yeah,” he said, “but it was years ago. After Graves got the cafe up and running he wouldn't do it for me anymore. I'd ask him to show me a technique and he would... just say no.” Reese turned and looked Avery in the eye. “I feel like I should have known something was up. But he was always a pretty secretive person, even when I was a kid. He never said anything mean about anybody but he seemed to listen more than talk.”

Avery watched as Graves came back from his warding. “Yeah, I could see that.”

“That should take care of things for a little while,” Graves said as he returned to his two apprentices. “Are you two ready? It will probably be disappointing to you, Reese, since you've seen it before. I apologize in advance.”

Reese shook his head. “I'm sure it'll be fine.”

Graves picked up one of the sheets of metal; it seemed to melt to his very touch. He began sculpting something delicately in his hand. They watched him sculpt with the ease of a master at his craft. 

The air around him appeared to crackle with magical energy as Graves opened his hands. A metallic bird, hollow but intimately life-like. It flew out of his hands.

He picked up another sheet of metal and sculpted another. And another. All the while, Graves' smile grew wider and wider, until finally, with three birds flying around him, he laughed. 

Reese had been around Graves almost his entire life and he hadn't heard Graves look this happy in a long time. Nor had he seen him look so pleased using his knack.

Avery thought it looked like Graves was conducting an orchestra with his sculptures.

After a few moments, he brought all three birds down to earth. They perched on rocks in different poses, unmoving.

Avery began clapping, and nudged Reese, who was staring at Graves. “I didn't know you could use your knack like that!” he exclaimed.

Graves was still smiling a little. “It has been almost three years since I've been able to use my magic like this. And even longer since I've used it freely.”

“What do you mean, 'used it freely?'” Avery asked. 

“Oh,” Graves said, staring off into the distance. He was no longer smiling. “You see, when I was with Nacht, he had his own ideas of how he wanted me to use my magic.” He sat down next to Avery and Reese. “After he tried to copy my own magic and corrupted his own, he became even more controlling about it. So I focused on my cat knack, instead.”

Reese felt a knot forming in his gut. “Boy, Nacht really did a number on you, huh?”

“Hmm. Yes,” Graves said. “He did. I regret that things couldn't have turned out differently, but he wanted what I couldn't give him.”

“And what was that?” Avery asked.

“Me. Well, more specifically, he wanted to _be_ me.”

“Like me wanting to be like my dad?” Reese asked. 

“Yes,” Graves said sharply. He took a deep breath and continued, “It's a shame, because he could do things with his magic that were so beautiful. But he always coveted mine, until one day...” he trailed off. “One day he tried a ritual to completely copy my knack. By the time I realized what he was doing, it was too late. The thing that he was left with...” Graves shuddered. “Well, you saw it.”

Reese felt a little awkward. “Are you sure you're okay talking about this with us?” 

Graves was quiet for a few moments. “Yes,” he said. “It made me so tired, holding all these secrets for so long. It is... painful, but you are my friends as well as apprentices. The burden is no longer mine alone and I couldn't be more grateful.

“Anyway,” he said, picking up the bird sculptures, “we should heading back. We promised the others dinner and we wouldn't want to be late. And before you ask, Avery,” he added, “we're not having pizza again. We had pizza last week.”

“Aw,” Avery said. 

Graves undid the wards surrounding the clearing and they began walking back through the trail. 

Avery had a question. “Can I ask what the fourth condition was for Nacht's curse? I mean, if you can't or don't want to tell us that's okay.”

Reese looked annoyed and Avery had a feeling that he had wanted to ask that, too.

“No, it's quite alright,” Graves said. “The last condition was that he accept his own magic – his _true_ magic, not his destructive rust kind. It is my hope that his knack can heal. I've studied the magic theory and there have been cases of it happening before.”

Reese grumbled. “Jesus, Graves, you're just too damn nice. Did you forget that he tried to kill you and all of us?”

“No, Reese,” Graves corrected. “I loved him once. He wasn't always like that. I just want him to be, well, happy with himself and his magic. But in the end, it's his choice, not mine.”

They reached the end of the trail, and subsequently, the parking lot. The three of them got in the car, with Reese calling shotgun.

As Graves pulled onto the highway, Reese took a CD out of his vest. “Look what my dad gave me when I went to visit him last weekend,” he said. It was a mix-tape CD with the words “Xpidercoven” scrawled on it in permanent marker.

Graves saw it and tried to grab it one-handed before Reese shoved it in the car's CD player, but it was too late. “Honestly,” he said as the music regrettably filled the car, “you kids are going to be the death of me.”

**Author's Note:**

> Basically I just wanted to make tired goth dad happy, so I did and then it kind of went on for a bit longer than I planned... but I enjoyed it and I hope you did too.


End file.
